Podcasts in Language Classrooms

Podcasts are great resources for foreign language classrooms, and they can be used in a variety of ways to improve language skills. There are so many different podcasts about many different topics that you can use in the classroom. I have found a website which is mainly used by parents homeschooling their kids. It is called The Wired Homeschool. You can find podcasts about many different topics on this website, and use it in your flipped classroom.



I most liked that you can find podcasts about current events, issues, technologies etc. on this website. For example, I can assign this podcast Are Road-Crossing Workshops R eally Necessary?  as homework. I can ask students to listen to it and write their reactions to the podcast. Or I could have students listen to the podcast and ask them questions and have a discussion in the classroom. Students will be able to connect their already existing knowledge to the content of the podcast and reflect on the topic of the podcast in writing. Students will be listening for details and it will contribute to their listening comprehension skills.

Using Dvolver in Classroom

This week I used Dvolver in order to create a mini digital story about going to the movies. I really liked this website. I first tried using Strip Generator, but after I got errors each time I tried to publish my story, I turned to Dvolver. I liked Dvolver because you can easily choose from many different characters, music and settings, but I would have loved it more if it had let us customize it all a little bit more.




By creating their digital story, my students could demonstrate the following performance indicators:

ESL.1.5-8.4.1.9: Students use appropriate vocabulary, expressions, language, routines, and interaction styles for various audiences and formal and informal social or school situations, noticing how intention is realized through language.

ESL.1.5-8.1.1.12: Students convey information and ideas through spoken and written language using conventions and features of American English appropriate to audience and purpose.

I would assess my students on the basis of their content being meaningful. If I make it clear that I want students to use certain forms, terms, words in their dialogues, I can check and see if they used them properly, I could also have them act out their role plays in the classroom and assess their spoken performance based on stress, intonation, and pronunciation.

Using Animoto in Classroom

This week, I have learnt about an amazing website, Animoto, which is used for creating videos. People use this website for many reasons but mainly for business and education. You can create educational videos by using pictures, music and text. Animoto offers great background themes and music you can choose from. It is very easy to use. I usually watch Youtube tutorials before I start using this kind of tools, but I did not really need it for Animoto.



I prepared a video about the life cycle of a frog using Animoto this week. Using this video, I can make an introduction to teaching storytelling and how sequencing helps order events or steps. Students will also learn and practice the use of transition words such as first, second, third, next, then, after that, etc. I can ask students to create a video using Animoto. I could ask students to make a video about how they spent their last birthday, or I could ask them to create a video about a simple recipe. When I assess them, I would consider how they used the pictures and text- if the picture really represents the text. I would also consider their performance in using transition words correctly and efficiently.

Performance Indicator- ESL.1.5-8.1.1.9: Students convey and organize information using facts, details, illustrative examples, and a variety of patterns and structures.

Performance Indicator- ESL.1.5-8.1.1.12: Students convey information and ideas through spoken and written language using conventions and features of American English appropriate to audience and purpose.
   

TED-Ed Lesson

I have created my first TED-Ed lesson today, and I must say that the website is very easy to navigate, and you can use these TED-Ed lessons for a lot of purposes. In this lesson, I imagined that I am teaching adult English language learners. I designed this class as a pre-reading task for my students to complete before we read an article on what minimalism is. In the video, Graham Hill talks about what he means by "Less Stuff, More Happiness". It is about 5 minutes long, which is good for a pre-reading task. Students are expected to watch the video, answer two detail questions and discuss what minimalism means to them.














Below are my objectives:

1) Students will be able to relate what they know with the text they will read.
2) Students will be able to listen for details to answer the comprehension questions.
3) Students will be able to understand what minimalism is.

I could test the first and last objective by reading their response to the discussion question. Their response to the discussion question will show how much they relate to their background knowledge, and what they understand from the concept of minimalism. I could test the second objective by looking at their answers to the comprehension questions as they will show if students were able to catch those details.

Flipped Classroom

I think the idea of flipped classroom became popular a few years ago (Dear readers, please leave a comment below if you think I am wrong), and I have just found out about it this week! These articles here and here summarize the flipped classroom approach very well. It is a new approach to teaching which is reversing our understanding of traditional teaching by having students learn about the subject at home, and classroom time is used for exercises, projects, and discussions. 

I love the idea of flipped classroom as a teacher and a student! Here are a few reasons. First, each student learn at a different pace and flipped classroom strategy gives them freedom to learn at their own pace. If they are using a video as the instructional material, they can rewind and watch again if need be. Second, classroom time is precious, and with this strategy you use it to solve problems and strengthen comprehension, which I call a better use of time. Third, flipped classroom promotes learner-centered classroom where a lot of time can be allotted to collaborative exercises.

I also have some concerns about this approach. First of all, flipped classroom means students will need technology outside of class. Not every student has a computer and internet at home. Second, flipped classroom means that students will need to spend a lot of time in front of their computer. If all their lessons are flipped, it means hours and hours of studying at home. Lastly, it will sound selfish but will my students think that I am not needed anymore? I understand that flipped classroom is more than assigning videos to students, but what will parents think? It is not always easy for people to embrace something so untraditional like this. It is a big change!  

Twitter for Professional Development and Education

When I hear "professional development courses/certificate programs" I immediately think of travel and accommodation costs. Professional development is very important to me as I don't want to lag behind while things are changing so fast! I want to know what is out there and what is happening, what the new trends are. I am always curious about other teachers' classrooms and what those teachers are doing differently, what works for them, what their opinions would be on my classroom struggles. I have recently found out that Twitter can be used for this purpose. We can still benefit greatly from those professional development courses and all, but Twitter is a gold mine for educators. Many educators today are using microblogging to talk about many different topics which we can all relate to, and they are sharing invaluable tips and amazing ideas. It is very easy to follow and you get a lot in an hour. I will recommend this to all my colleagues who are not aware of twitter chats.

You can also use twitter for educational purposes. In their article, How Twitter Can Be Used as a Powerful Educational Tool, Alan November and Brian Mull mention that Twitter can be used as part of the learning process by any classroom. One of the activities that he explained amazed me. A teacher from Texas posted a twit to her students along with a picture from a game and the picture was her holding a soda cup in her hand. She asked students to come up with questions based on the picture, and reactions from the students were amazing. They were very creative and came up with a lot of questions. What was amazing was that students stopped whatever they were doing and rushed to respond to their teacher. This is a great example of sharing learning opportunities with others outside of classroom




 Another way that we can use Twitter for students is we can have them collaborate on writing a short story. It is a fun activity where one person starts it and another continues. It can take a few days, weeks or even months to complete it, but it is a fun activity and very good for improving writing skills.

Twitter Chats

This week I joined two twitter chats: #ELTchat on Wednesday afternoon, and #langchat Saturday morning. This has been my favorite professional development platform so far! It is a treasure! I use twitter on a daily basis mostly to keep up with trending topics in my home country Turkey and in the world. I also use it as a news source quite often. But, little did I know that I would some day use twitter for professional development.  

To my surprise the topic in both chats were the things we have been studing in my linguistics and literacy classes over the past few weeks. ELTchat had people join from many different countries. They discussed pronunciation teaching, why teachers skip it, what are some good sources etc. It spoke to my heart! I am personally not confident teaching pronunciation mainly because of my accent. It was great to see that I was not the only one feeling this way. Topic in #langchat was collaboration with colleagues in other disciplines. Moderator posed discussion questions and people were so generous sharing their experiences, concerns, resources, ideas etc. At the end of the chat, moderator asked what people took away from the chat, which was a great summary of the conversations. I mostly observed both chats, but I learnt a lot in a very short time! I loved it for many reasons, but here are some:

1) It is a free professional development platform you can join in your PJs from your home.
2) Conversation topics are very well chosen and discussion questions are to the point.
3) You get to meet genuinely enthusiastic professionals from many different places and build a network.
4) You learn a lot in an hour! You learn a lot of practical tips. This week someone from NC said she has her elementary school students use voicethread to describe the self portrait they did in art class. Amazing idea to how how you can collaborate with colleagues from other disciplines!
5) They are so welcoming! They don't mind if you are just there to observe. 
I loved twitter chats so much that I will definitely be a regular.